Kenji knew the four agents of CP9—Kaku, Kalifa, Blueno, and Rob Lucci—were already in the city, hiding in plain sight. They were the ultimate assassins, masters of the secret martial art, Rokushiki (Six Powers).
Kenji found them not in the darkness of the night, but during the day, sitting in an inconspicuous coffee shop near Galley-La Headquarters. He walked in, ordered a drink, and sat at a table nearby.
"The coffee is terrible today," Kenji commented casually, not looking at them.
The four CP9 agents froze. Their training was perfect, their disguise flawless, yet this man had found them in broad daylight.
"We don't speak Japanese," Kaku, the shipwright, muttered nervously.
Kenji sighed, taking a sip of the lukewarm coffee. "The mission is a failure. You have been compromised before you even executed the primary objective. You are here for Robin-san, the blueprints, and to retrieve the weapons platform you call Franky. And you are all masters of the Six Powers."
He looked directly at Blueno, the bartender.
• Target: Rokushiki Technique: Tekkai (Iron Body).
• Copying...
• Apex Enhancement Active...
• Resulting Ability: [Apex: Adamantium Body] Acquired. (Instantaneous, permanent physical state of near-indestructibility, surpassing even Seastone).
Kenji then briefly watched Kalifa's movements.
• Target: Rokushiki Technique: Soru (Shave).
• Copying...
• Apex Enhancement Active...
• Resulting Ability: [Apex: Chronal Velocity Mastery] Acquired. (The ability to move at light-speed and localized time acceleration, surpassing the Soru concept entirely).
"I now possess your primary defensive and offensive movement techniques," Kenji announced, his eyes glowing faintly. "And I have made them infinitely superior. My body is now tougher than a mountain, and I can move faster than light."
Rob Lucci, the most dangerous of the group, broke his disguise, his composure finally snapping. The pigeon on his shoulder, Hattori, took flight.
"Who are you?!" Lucci growled, his voice deep and menacing. "How did you find us? The Navy's intelligence lists you as an unpredictable force."
Kenji stood up, dropping a bill on the table. "I am the man who protects the future. And in that future, Nico Robin is happy and safe. Your mission ends now."
Lucci attacked instantly, moving with blinding speed using Soru, intending to smash Kenji with a powerful Rankyaku (Tempest Kick).
Kenji didn't use his newly copied Apex: Chronal Velocity Mastery. He simply used his Omniscience Haki to anticipate the trajectory, and casually held up two fingers.
The moment Lucci's powerful, razor-sharp kick arrived, it hit Kenji's fingers with the force of a crashing warship.
CRACK!
The sound was not of flesh snapping, but of the air itself breaking. Lucci recoiled, his leg vibrating painfully, his eyes wide with shock. Kenji hadn't even budged a millimeter.
"The apex of your defense," Kenji stated, showing no emotion. "Don't bother with the other techniques. They are already mine. You will leave this city now, and you will forget the name 'Nico Robin' until I allow you to remember it."
The message was clear: they were outmatched by a force they couldn't even quantify. CP9, facing absolute, transcendent power, chose the only logical option: retreat. They vanished into the labyrinthine city, their mission instantly aborted.